Bottle opener



E; GEH

BOTTLE OPENER Dec. 7, 1948.

Filed Dec. 7, 1946 FIG-l ERNEST GEH M 7 M mom.

ATTORNEYS 3 the bottle neck, where pressure by the foot 24 cannot dent or deform the metal of the cap.

Operation To remove the cap from a bottle, the opener is applied with its parts in the relative positions shown in Fig. 2, i. e., with supporting member I l tilted so that claw II extends down through the recess 2|. Holding the tool in the hand, in the inclined position shown in Fig. 5, it is moved down to the position shown in Fig. 6, the claw I! being hooked beneath the edge of the crimped flange of the cap before foot 24 is permitted to fully seat on the cap. This operation brings the supporting member H to a position in which it is firmly based upon the bottle and cap, with three point support tending to prevent lateral tilt or twist of the parts. Thus the support ll now supplies a firm fulcrum, at the horizontal axis through pivot pins l9, about which the body member may be swung or turned, as a lever of the first class, the short arm of the lever having a length equal to approximately the radius of the cap and the longer arm being seven to ten or more times that length. Depression of the handle now pries off the cap by movement of the claw first to engage the cap flange, as in Fig. 6, and then upwardly and outwardly to pry it loose, as in Figs. 8 and 9. The loose cap comes away with :the tool, being housed or confined within the ring, and is readily grasped and returned by the same hand which operates the tool. At the same time the cap is not deformed or injured, being merely stretched slightly to pass the bulge of the bottle rim, so that it may be snapped'back to place to again seal the bottle against loss of remaining content, either liquid or gas. By restoring the supporting ring to its former position, the device is again ready for another operation. Figs. 10 and 11 show another arrangement, exactly like that before described, excepting only in its inclusion of a suitable means for always biasing. the supporting ring toward the position shown in Fig. 10, ready for applicationto a capped bottle. The meansshown for the purpose is a leaf spring 30. secured to the under surface of the handle and bearing downwardly upon root 24.

Butjsuch means may be of any desired form and is notalways essential.

mg. 12 shows still another arrangement, differing from the form shown in Fig. 2 only in that the lever in Fig. 2 is a lever of the first class while that in Fig. 12 is a lever of the second class. In other words the depending lug IS on the body member lies between the pivots l9 and the handle end, and the claw I1 is bent forwardly instead of rearwardly and engages the near instead of the far edge or flange ofthe cap. Also foot 24 is on the outer, instead of on the inner, portion of the supporting ring.

This tool is applied to the capped bottle in the same manner described, but of course while tilted or inclined downwardly toward instead of away from the operator, and the cap is removed by lifting up on the handle instead of bearing down upon it.

In all forms the tool is very powerful and may be operated with minimum effort; it removes the What I claim is:

1. Adevice for removing crown'caps from glass bottles, comprising a supporting'member inthe form of an annulus adapted to embrace the crimped flange of the bottle cap and to rest at one point upon the bulge of the bottle neck below said flange and at an opposite point provided with a foot adapted to rest upon the rim of the cap above the bottle neck, and a lever member pivoted upon the supporting member and having a depending claw member in substantially diametrically opposed relationship relative to the foot of said supporting member adapted for engagement beneath the edge of the cap flange for prying the cap loose upon operation of said lever.

2. A device for removing crown caps from glass bottles, comprising a supporting member in the form of an annulus adapted to embrace the crimp-ed flange of the bottle cap and to rest at one point upon the bulge of the bottle neck below said flange and at an opposite point provided with a foot adapted to rest upon the rim of the cap above the bottle neck, and a lever member pivoted upon the supporting member on a tranverse axis intermediate said two points and having a depending claw member adapted for engagement beneath the edge of the cap flange for prying the cap loose upon the operation of said lever, the claw member of said lever member and the foot of said supporting member being disposed on opposite sides of the pivotal axis of said lever. 3. A device for removing crown caps from glass bottles, comprising a supporting member in the form of an annulus adapted to embrace the crimped flange of the bottle cap and to rest at one point upon the bulge of the bottle neck below said flange and at an opposite point provided with a foot adapted to rest upon the rim of the cap above the bottle neck, and a lever member pivoted upon the supporting member and having a depending claw member in substantially diametrically opposed relationship relative to the foot of said supporting member adapted for engagementbeneath the edge of the cap flange for prying the cap loose upon operation of said lever, said annular supporting member having an outwardly extendin'g U-shaped;portion in the path of travel of saidclaw member and providing a recess; through which said claw member extends and'itravels. 4; A devicefor removing'crown caps from glass bottles, comprising a supporting member in the form of an annulus adapted to embrace the crimped flange of the bottle cap and to rest at one point upon the bulge of the bottle neck below said flange and at an opposite point provided with a foot adapted to' rest upon'the rim of the cap above the bottle neck; and a lever member pivoted upon the supporting member on a transverse axis intermediate said two points and having a depending claw member adapted foriengagement beneath the edge of the cap flange for prying the cap loose upon, the operation of said lever the claw member of said lever member and the foot of said supporting member being disposed on opposite sides of the pivotal axis of said lever, said annular supporting member'having an outwardly extending U-shapedlportion in'the'path of travel 'of said claw member and providing a recess cap above the bottle neck, and a lever member pivoted upon the supporting member on a transverse axis lying intermediate said two points and at a level above the lower edge of the cap flange and having a depending claw member 5 adapted for engagement beneath the edge of the her and providing a recess through which said claw member extends and travels.

ERNEST GEH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 54,929 Lyman May 22, 1866 2,330,893 Hutoff, Jr Oct. 5, 1943 

